5 Reasons to Watch the New Shannara Chronicles Series

The Shannara Chronicles is the new series from MTV, based on the books written by Terry Brooks. Belonging to the fantasy genre, The Shannara Chronicles aired on January 5th. The series is focused on the second book of Brook’s first trilogy, The Elfstones of Shannara, but it seems it will also feature elements from other novels. The story is about three teenagers who are on a quest to defeat the Warlock Lord. However, there are several reasons to watch the new Shannara Chronicles series, even if you are not a fan of the books.

1. The Tale

The first season includes ten episodes concentrating on only one novel from the total of more than twenty books in the series. This means that if the show is successful, the Universe and story can greatly expand in future seasons. What is quite unique about it is that it wonderfully merges the fantasy and horror genres, just one of the reasons to watch the new Shannara Chronicles series. It should turn out well, since Terry Brooks himself checked the results. The story follows a bandit, a half-elf and an elven princess who have the dangerous mission of stopping the end of the world at the hands of demons.

2. The Vast World

Similar to Middle-Earth, the world from Shannara Chronicles is extremely vast, and thus worthy of exploring. The action takes place sometime in the future, in a post-apocalyptic scenery ruled by elves, where humans are considered a subspecies. Seeing that the first book was written back in 1977, Brooks had quite some time until now to write another twenty-five. Therefore, there are countless plots and subplots to the story. The screenwriters had quite a challenge, similar to the ones who work on the Game of Thrones series, since the tale has many side stories and layers.

3. The Visuals

The TV series was filmed in New Zealand, so we can expect some breathtaking scenery similar to The Lord of the Rings trilogy. The various landscapes are perfect for representing the special countryside features in movies of the fantasy genre: tropical forests, green hills, high mountains, sandy beaches and many more. Another one among the reasons to watch the new Shannara Chronicles series is that the producer is Jon Faverau, who has previously worked on Avengers: Age of Ultron and Cowboys and Aliens, so we can be sure the budget won’t be cut for special effects. These were helmed by professional Jason Durey, who has also worked on Underworld: Rise of the Lycans and Evil Dead.

4. The Cast

First of all, the series is directed by talented directors: Brad Turner, Jonathan Liebesman, James Marshall and Jesse Warn, who have previously worked on Daredevil, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Falling Skies and True Blood. The cast includes John Rhys Davies, whose most memorable role was back in the early 2000s, when he played Gimli the dwarf in The Lord of the Rings. It will be a delight to watch him in another fantasy work. Furthermore, other acting talents involved are Ivana Baquero (Pan’s Labyrinth, Another Me), Austin Butler (Arrow), Poppy Drayton (Downton Abbey) and Manu Bennett (Spartacus, The Hobbit, Arrow).

5. Female Representation

In terms of female representation and empowerment, last year had plenty of it in both TV series and movies. It seems Shannara Chronicles will be no different, since the producers decided to start with the second novel that is more gender balanced, instead of the first one. Furthermore, the series has three main heroes, two of which are female: Amberle and Eretria. Amberle is an elven princess who is as much a warrior as any soldier, while Eretria is a bandit who’s got all the best lines in the series. You will undoubtedly fall in love with both of them.

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About Anne Burwell

Daughter, sister, wife, mother and writer. I spend half of my free time writing and the other half reading contemporary literature. I like to start my day with half an hour of yoga and then I head over to my desk with a cup of green tea to start working on my sci fi novel. On weekends I like to head over to the country side for a breath of fresh air and to catch up with my mom.